offsite w/best pool/waterpark/slide area

[leanne11]

like offsite for the room for new baby but need something for 11 yr old pool wise..summer bay or bonnet creek or any ideas??/

 

[edk35]

I am hitching a ride on your thread.

 

[summerrluvv]

I have only stayed off site at Marriott's Harbour Lakes (formerly Horizons) twice and my son loves it there. He is 11. They have two pool areas, a mini golf course, basketball, foosball, etc. Here is my review with a few pics from last year.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2167701&highlight=harbour+lakes

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We own at Summer Bay and if you're looking for good waterpark type things, I'd say no. The main pool isn't very big compared to say HGVCs or Universal Hotels. Also no pool slide.
However there is a big lake behind the clubhouse with boats to rent: pedal boats, water mice, etc. You only have to be 12 to drive the water mice and ds was so happy when he finally could drive. I was worried but he handled it very well and took our younger ds with him. (They are very familiar with boating with my dad but still not the same completely!)
There is a big water trampoline on the lake and huge inflateables to climb on for $10/day/pp. My kids tried them when we 1st bought, around 5 yrs ago and said it was really hard to climb up. Last time there they looked kind of skeevy but I'm not a lake person really.
The condos are very spacious. I'll try to find some pictures.

 

[edk35]

I have only stayed off site at Marriott's Harbour Lakes (formerly Horizons) twice and my son loves it there. He is 11. They have two pool areas, a mini golf course, basketball, foosball, etc. Here is my review with a few pics from last year.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2167701&highlight=harbour+lakes

How close is this to Disney and also is it close to Wet n Wild by chance?? Are there any shuttles to Disney or other parks? Thanks

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

How close is this to Disney and also is it close to Wet n Wild by chance?? Are there any shuttles to Disney or other parks? Thanks

Not sure about shuttles but according to Mapquest, MK and Wet n Wild are almost 14 miles apart. Estimated time: 20 mins.

 

[summerrluvv]

We didn't do WDW when we went, only SW (which is right across the street) and US which was about 15 minutes or so. We did see Wet n Wild when we were cruising around on International Drive and it wasn't far...maybe 10 minutes or so.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Views from ourbalcony:

Looking toward resort from front of clubhouse:

General area:

Clubhouse entrance/check in bldg:

Pool:

Rear of clubhouse from fishing pier:

Pool/lake at sunset:

Master Bedroom:

Living Room:

Lake area:

 

[summerrluvv]

Wow Summer Bay looks amazing!! The beach looks like a blast! How do they keep the gators out of the lake?

 

[AJKMOM]

Wow Summer Bay looks amazing!! The beach looks like a blast! How do they keep the gators out of the lake?

That's a question I was going to ask, too. The experts say if the body of water is big enough to hold a gator, there is probably one there somewhere.

 

[leanne11]

they dont drive the boats near the swimmers right?/ also the gator ? is a good one. i remember at beach club a tiny lake that had gators in it & they said any water in florida w/out chlorine has gators

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

They do mention in their paperwork that it is a natural lake with wildlife. At first it didn't bother me and thought what are the odds but later it started to worry me and would rather them be in the boat than in the water.
I'm used to ocean water and waves, etc. not crocs. They made it sound so rare but really no guarantees.

The pictures make it look like it's all right there w/swimmers and boats but slightly separated that swimmers have def boundaries that boaters can easily see. Boaters only pull away from the beach area then can only loop around further out in the lake with very specific area and direction. You can't just zig zag around however you want like we can in the ocean.

Our kids did the inflatables once when we first bought and never asked to do them again which surprised me. I thought they'd love it and even at $10/pp would be way cheaper than every day in WDW.

Another good thing about Summer Bay is there's a Publix right next door and bins of clean towels at the pool to take as many as you want and toss in hamper when done. We once traded for a Gold Crown (RCI rating) in Williamsburg, VA. They gave us 6 pool towels to keep for the week and had to wash them ourself!

Not shown: hot tub, baby pool and mini golf.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Wow Summer Bay looks amazing!! The beach looks like a blast! How do they keep the gators out of the lake?

yeah, I was wondering the same thing. There really is no sure way to guarantee there isn't a gator in that water. I don't trust the waters here in Fl. Not only gators but other things as well.. like cotton mouth snakes & amebia's.

 

[summerrluvv]

yeah, I was wondering the same thing. There really is no sure way to guarantee there isn't a gator in that water. I don't trust the waters here in Fl. Not only gators but other things as well.. like cotton mouth snakes & amebia's.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

they dont drive the boats near the swimmers right?/ also the gator ? is a good one. i remember at beach club a tiny lake that had gators in it & they said any water in florida w/out chlorine has gators

also the ocean & Gulf are pretty clear of gators.. there was a gator spotted in the Gulf up in the Panhandle section.
However in those waters you have to watch for sharks and man o war... Seems New Smyrna Beach on the east coast is a haven for sharks. I would like to say that is the shark capital of Fl... there are many swimmers that have been bitten there. Just one recently too.. a 10 year old

 

[leanne11]

i remember a thread a couple of yrs back where they were parasailing or something in a man made lake and got some kind of sickness that a little boy died from...i didn't know the lakes were open again for just swimming like that...

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

i remember a thread a couple of yrs back where they were parasailing or something in a man made lake and got some kind of sickness that a little boy died from...i didn't know the lakes were open again for just swimming like that...

Wow, how sad. What lake was that?

 

[loveysbydesign]

great pix of Summer Bay...how long of a drive is it to the parks?

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

great pix of Summer Bay...how long of a drive is it to the parks?

It's 6 miles west of WDW property on Rt. 192.
We used to rent pool homes in the Rolling Hills/Formosa Gardens/Indian Creek/Windsor Palms area. I see you've been to Windsor Hills a few times. Summer Bay would seem waaaaay too far away after being so close as WH. More than once I wished we were closer.

 

[loveysbydesign]

It's 6 miles west of WDW property on Rt. 192.
We used to rent pool homes in the Rolling Hills/Formosa Gardens/Indian Creek/Windsor Palms area. I see you've been to Windsor Hills a few times. Summer Bay would seem waaaaay too far away after being so close as WH. More than once I wished we were closer.

We are staying at Indian Creek in Nov. Is Summer Bay 20 minutes or so away??